Copy of `Interbuilders - Building and Construction Terms and Phrases`

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Interbuilders - Building and Construction Terms and Phrases Category: Architecture and Buildings Date & country: 03/12/2007, UK Words: 156

Aggregate
The collective term for gravel, sand and stone, which amongst other things can be used to make concrete. Aggregate can be compacted to firmly fill a space and is often bound together with cement, to make concrete or bitumen, to re-surface roads.

Appraisal
An expert's valuation of a building.

Apron
A trim board installed under a window sill.

Architrave
Moulding round opening such as a window or door.

Arris
A sharp external angle - usually 90 degrees.

Baluster
An alternative term for banister.

Barge Board
A wide board fitted below the edge of tiles following the slope of the roof. Older examples may be carved.

Batten
Timber members to which roof tiles are fitted.

Bead
Small convex moulding.

Beam
A horizontal support that carries the weight of a building load.

Bearing Partition
A partition in a building that supports its own weight and that of any vertical load.

Bearing Wall
A wall that supports its own weight and that of any vertical load.

Bib Tap
A tap fed by horizontal supply; for example, a garden tap.

Bill of Quantities
A list of the items that will be required in the construction of a building along with their cost value.

Blown
Also known as Live.

Blue Print
A copy of the planned building structure, often as architectural drawings of proposed buildings. Blue prints are often used for a variety of necessary activities such as securing permits.

Bond
An arrangement of bricks to ensure stability of brickwork.

Bonding Agent
A substance used to bond two different objects or parts together.

British Standards
Specific standards established and approved by the British Standards Institute regarding the performance of methods or products.

Building Regulations
Legislation detailing the methods and requirements for the construction of buildings, taking into account health and safety issues.

Buttress
Also known as Pier.

Cantilever
An overhang. Often used where one floor juts out over a foundation wall. This projection is not usually more than 2 feet.

Cavity Wall
Usual construction for external walls comprising an inner and outer skin of either brick or some form of block with a space of around 2 inches between for insulation. In modern timber framed dwellings, timber framing forms an inner 'skin' then is often clad with an outer skin of brick or similar to give a traditional appearance. Properly constructe…

Cesspool
A watertight chamber in which sewage effluent is collected. In some cases, an outlet is provided from the cesspool to allow soakage into surrounding ground. Otherwise, it must be emptied at regular intervals, a service usually provided by the Local Authority for which a charge is made.

Cill
A sloping area below a door or window opening to facilitate rainwater run off.

Cistern
A tank used for storing water; usually positioned in the attic.

Cleat
A cable fixing; example, for phone wire.

Collar
(1) In drains: The wider end of pipe into which another pipe fits.

Construction Drywall
A type of construction in which the interior wall finish is applied in a dry condition, generally in the form of wood panelling or sheet materials.

Coping
A protective finish to the top of a wall.

Corbelling
Successive projecting courses of brickwork.

Cornice
Also known as Cove.

Dado
The area of external wall usually below damp proof course level often having an alternative finish to the brickwork or roughcast on the sections above damp course level.

Dado Rail
Horizontal moulding positioned part way up a wall.

Damp-Proof Course (DPC)
Layers of impermeable material (often plastic or bitumen) used to prevent passage of water. Either vertical (e.g. where room is below ground level to prevent lateral passage of water from ground into the walls) or horizontal, inserted at base of walls to stop rising damp. When inserting a new DPC in older buildings, a 'chemical' form may be used th…

Damp-Proof Membrane
Similar to Damp-Proof Course (DPC), but used for solid ground floors to prevent rising damp rising up through floor. The membrane should be connected to DPC in surrounding walls to be fully effective.

Dead Walling
Also known as Deadwork.

Deal
A piece of square-sawn softwood.

Distemper
A traditional wall paint made from pigment, water and glue.

Downpipes
Square or round plastic or cast iron tubing to take water from the gutters to the drainage system.

Drip
Groove or moulding in overhanging member to prevent water creeping back.

Dumpy Level
An instrument used with a tripod to take comparative levels of ground or parts of buildings.

Eaves
The horizontal exterior roof overhang at the lower edge of a roof.

Efflorescence
The unsightly powdery white salts that may be brought to surface of brickwork.

Estimate
A rough evaluation of the amount of materials, labour, and other costs that a building contractor anticipates for the building project.

Fascia
The vertical board at eaves level to which guttering often attached.

Fibre Quilting
Glass fibre insulation. Note: there is some medical evidence to suggest this form of insulation may be carcinogenic.

First Fix
The work needed to take a building from foundation to putting plaster on the internal walls. This includes constructing walls, ceilings and floors, and inserting pipes for water supply and cables for electrical supply.

Flashing
A metal sheet used to deflect water at junction between roof and wall to provide the building with protection from water seepage. Formed in lead in good quality work.

Flat Arch
An arch that is almost completely horizontal.

Flaunching
Cement mortar filler round the top of a chimney stack.

Floors
(1) Suspended Floor: A system of joists covered with floor boarding or chipboard supported by small 'sleeper' walls on the solum at ground floor level. The cavity between floor boarding and solum should be ventilated by air bricks set into external walls to avoid formation of stagnant pockets of damp air, conducive to growth of rot. Suspended floor…

Flue
A tube that conveys fumes or smoke from appliances or fireplaces.

Flush Door
A door with completely flat faces.

Footlifter
A wedge used to lift boards for nailing to wall.

Formation Level
The deep point in an excavation for a drive or path.

Foundation
The supporting portion of a structure below the first floor construction.

Fresh Air Inlet (FAI)
Perforated brick or grating set into a wall to provide ventilation. Typically used at the base of walls to ventilate areas beneath joist and boarded ground floors.

Frog
The indent on the bed face of a brick.

Gable
Upper part of an outer wall at the end of a pitched roof.

Gauged Brickwork
Fine brickwork with very thin joints.

Glazing Bar
Thin bar shaped to receive pane of glass.

Gravity Fed System
Central heating system that circulates water by water expansion and gravity.

Gutter
Open piping at lowest point of roof for the collections of rain water and formed in cast iron (in older properties) or plastic. Guttering comes in two standard designs: Ogee; a moulded pattern commonly sitting on the wallhead; and half-round; a semi-circular section, fixed to fascia with brackets.

Handling Costs
The expenses incurred in transporting labour or goods to the building site. Handling costs are often quoted on the invoice as a part of costs incurred.

Header
The end face of a brick.

Header Tank
Small open storage tank that feeds water to central heating system. Normally independent of main cold water storage tank, the header tank tops up water in central heating system.

Headlap
The distance a slate overlaps the next lower slate or tile.

Herringbone
Zigzag pattern of brickwork.

Hip
The line of adjoining sections of a pitched roof at external angle of building.

Hip Tile
Roof tile shaped to cover the hip of roof.

Hipped Roof
A pitched roof, the ends of which are also sloped.

Jamb
The side of an opening in a wall for a window or door.

Joist
Any beams set parallel from wall to wall or across girders which support a ceiling or floor.

Joist Hanger
A 'U' shaped piece of metal that is used to support the end of a floor joist.

Knotting
Varnish to stabilise knots in wood.

Land Drain
A method of disposing water beneath ground. Land drains usually comprise of a drain laid with open joints and surrounded by pea shingle or similar material through which water can disperse into surrounding soil.

Lath and Plaster
Also known as Brander and Plaster.

Lean-to Roof
A sloping roof supported along its highest part by a taller adjoining wall.

Light
Subdivision of a window; it may be either opening or fixed. Opening lights can be side or top hung.

Lintel
A concrete, steel or wooden beam spanning a door or window openings in a wall to support the building materials above.

Loose-Fill Insulation
Loose material for insulating lofts and cavity walls.

Mansard Roof
A form of pitched roof designed to provide more space for rooms. It is characterised by two slopes on each of its four sides with the lower slope being much steeper, almost a vertical wall, while the upper slope, usually not visible from the ground, is pitched at the minimum needed to shed water.

Megger
A colloquial term for an insulation tester used by electricians (short for megohm-meter).

Mezzanine
An extra floor, possibly inserted between ceiling and floor of very tall room. The floor often projects itself from the walls and does not completely close the view of the ceiling from ground floor.

Mitre
An angled joint, similar to joints seen in picture frames.

Module
Dimensional co-ordination of components.

Mortar
A mixture of cement with water and sand used in masonry work.

Muck
Brickie term for mortar.

Mullion
Vertical member between a window lintel and a window sill. Usually of stone or precast reinforced concrete.

Newel
The vertical post at top and bottom of staircase.

Nogging
Short wooden stiffeners inserted between joists.

Non-Bearing Wall
A wall that only supports its own weight.

Nosing
The rounded edge of a stair tread that projects beyond the riser.

Parapet
A low wall found at the edge of a roof; usually with internal parapet gutters behind. Normally only found in period properties.

Pebble Dash
Roughcast wall finish with stones bedded in rendered wall.

Pilaster
Projecting part of a square column that is attached to wall.

Pitch
The slope of roof, expressed as a ratio or an angle.

Plain Tile
Rectangular 'flat' roofing tile.

Planning Act
A form of legislation that governs the types and locations of building development.